Croatians angry over Cyrillic signs in war town

Around 25,000 people took to the streets in protest on Sunday to voice their anger at plans to have street signs written in the Cyrillic alphabet in the Croatian town of Vukovar. 

According to a report by Al Jazeera, many Croatians are opposed to street signs in Cyrillic that will serve the Serbian minority living in Vukovar because they feel it shows a lack of respect to the victims killed by Serbs during the Croatian war of 1991-95. Vukovar, which is seen as a symbol of the war of independence, was captured and held during a violent siege by Serbians for three months, and many Croatians were killed.

Cyrillic, which is the alphabet that Serbians use, is required by law to be on street signs in towns wherever a Serbian minority resides. In Croatia, if ethnic minorities make up more than a third of the population, then they have the right to use their language for public institutions or streets.

Serbs make up four percent of Croatia’s population, which make them the country’s largest minority. 

Protestors are asking the government to exempt Vukovar from the law due to the town’s history.